Healthy Children, Happy Children: India's Largest Student-led Child Health Campaign Launched

An innovative program CineArt Healthy children, Happy children was launched in India to promote child health awareness and disease prevention with 2,00,000 school children using art and cinema.

The largest in its outreach and scope so far, an innovative program titled CineArt ‘Healthy children, Happy children’ has been launched in India to bring together leading Indian pediatricians, with NGOs and artists in the field of creative learning, to mentor 2, 00,000 school children from 200 schools (an equal mix of Public/Privately held schools and NGO/ Community schools) in 4 cities - Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, on critical aspects of children’s health.

Schools provide the most ideal platform to raise awareness, train teachers and students, and through them-parents and community members, on important issues pertaining to health--disease prevention and health awareness. Using art and cinema to make children’s health education real, innovative and participatory, the initiative will utilize non-authoritarian creative techniques in the schools jointly reaching out to 2,00,000 children making this the largest student-led health campaign in India.

In the week following Children’s Day celebrations in India, “Healthy children, Happy children” the student-led campaign on children’s health has been jointly launched by Sanofi India Limited and PVR Nest (the social program and registered foundation of Indian film entertainment company PVR Limited).

600 health workshops using experiential learning methodologies like puppetry, theatre, storytelling and capacity building exercises, will be tapped to sensitize children on relevant health topics like hygiene, environment, play and exercise, disability and discrimination, vaccination, ergonomics, among others.

Speaking at the launch event in Chennai, Dr. Stephan Barth, Country Head – Sanofi Pasteur India, Sri Lanka & Nepal stated, “Over the years, Sanofi has provided medication and healthcare tools to address numerous fundamental childhood health issues, from routine to life-threatening. Through our new ‘Healthy children, Happy children’ initiative, we aim to diversify and adapt our healthcare offer to young Indian patients, with innovative products, services and awareness initiatives. We are delighted to partner with PVR Nest for a first-of-its-kind interface between pediatricians, NGOs and artistes for this innovative, year-long school awareness program on health. We are looking forward to seeing children-in-action during the school health workshops, and also, during the making of original ‘Healthy children, happy children’ health films and publication.”

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One of the significant outcomes of this year-long creative and collaborative educational program on child health will be the formation of around 200 ‘Healthy children, Happy children’ School Clubs. The clubs will have an outreach within schools, as well as to parents and communities outside, to sustain health education and awareness.

The launch event at Chennai was attended by leading Chennai pediatricians, many of the 50 participating school founders and students and graced by Mr. Balaji Kumar, eminent artist, photographer, visual designer, writer, director and producer as the Chief Guest. Actor Ashwin Kakumanu was the Special Guest of honor. Dr. K Pandian, Assistant Professor- Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology, Institute of Child Health Chennai, and Founder Member-Pediatric Neurology Chapter of IAP, spoke on the occasion.

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The program opened with an original children’s theatre production on health, and also saw the launch of a special campaign film featuring children, to drive home the message of health.

Other highlights of the children’s health campaign:

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Students to share key-learning in creative formats such as posters, drawings, skits and plays

The best creative entries to feature in the first ever original children’s publication on Health

Eight winning school teams (chosen on the basis of creative entries) to be trained on film making by eminent film makers; children to make films on chosen health themes

Further to the Grand finale, three ‘best’ health films will be screened at 100 PVR Cinema Screens across India for six months

Source-Medindia